Staff photo / Preston Byers. Hubbard’s Haleigh Taylor delivers during Wednesday’s road win against Struthers.

STRUTHERS — Both Struthers and Hubbard kept their respective streaks alive Wednesday, with the Wildcats suffering their fifth loss in a row, while the Eagles picked up their sixth consecutive win.

Hubbard, behind a nearly flawless Haleigh Taylor pitching performance, blanked Struthers 10-0, setting up a highly-anticipated Northeast 8 Conference (NE8) matchup with Lakeview today.

“I thought for the most part, we did a good job defensively,” Eagles assistant coach Jeff Songer said. “Haleigh obviously threw really, really well today. She had a live fastball, spinning it well, so that helps. … All in all, it was a good win.”

Before Taylor struck out the side in the bottom of the first inning, she received some run support, with Layla Songer hitting a leadoff home run on the second pitch of the game. Soon thereafter, Lylah Taylor drove in Haleigh Taylor and Cara Green, who had walked and doubled, respectively.

The Eagles continued to score in the top of the second inning, during which Haleigh Taylor hit a two-run single to bring home Izzie Slifka and Izzy Baker to go up 5-0.

After another one-two-three inning from Haleigh Taylor, Struthers replaced starting pitcher Ella Bailey, who Wildcats head coach Meghan Dubos said was struggling with exhaustion, with Brooklyn Davis. The sophomore, despite surrendering a leadoff double to Green, left the runner stranded after forcing a pop out, a groundout and a strikeout.

In the bottom of the third, Haleigh Taylor struck out two more batters before allowing her first hit of the game to Vivian Marker. Hubbard kept its shutout, however, by catching the courtesy runner for Marker stealing.

Songer, who stole second base and advanced to third on a passed ball, scored the Eagles’ sixth run of the game in the fourth on a wild pitch. Haleigh Taylor then doubled to left field to score another run, and Lylah Taylor put her team ahead 8-0 on an infield single. In the following inning, Slifka drove in Songer with a single.

After Hubbard went up 9-0, both teams struggled to get things going offensively, with Haleigh Taylor striking out the side in the bottom of the fifth before Davis got out of a jam after allowing a leadoff walk and successful bunt. After a dropped third strike for the second out, the Eagles’ would-be 10th run was tagged out while trying to steal home during the throw to first.

Haleigh Taylor had her toughest inning in the home half of the sixth, when, after popping and grounding out the first two batters, put a runner on base with a hit-by-pitch and then threw a pair of wild pitches. Nonetheless, the runner, who had made it to third, was left stranded with another Haleigh Taylor strikeout.

Hubbard finally took its 10-run lead in the top of the seventh, when Haleigh Taylor singled, scoring Songer, who had a game-high four runs on the day. In the bottom half of the inning, Haleigh Taylor completed her shutout and struck out another pair, bringing her total to 13.

“I felt really good in the beginning, moving well,” Haleigh Taylor said. “I just think I started getting tired [late], but I was able to push through.”

Haleigh Taylor, who had three hits and four RBI, allowed just two hits and zero walks in the circle Wednesday. Between Bailey and Davis, Struthers struck out five batters and surrendered 15 hits, nine earned runs and four walks.

The loss, the Wildcats’ fifth straight and eighth overall, was also the fifth game in a row in which they have allowed double-digit runs. While facing Lakeview, Crestview, Poland and Hubbard twice in the last week, Struthers was outscored 62-2.

“One of our main components of our team is ‘everything with intention,'” Dubos said. “Since it’s my first year since taking over, it’s all about positivity and growth and being able to take what we do well and keep doing it, and what mistakes we make, adjust, fix them and move forward. But offensively, we haven’t been doing so great, but I think once our bats start, that we’ll be in a lot more games.”

After three consecutive league games, Struthers (1-8, 0-6 NE8) hosts Warren JFK today and is scheduled to play Ashtabula Lakeside on Friday before a Saturday doubleheader vs. Lowellville.

Hubbard (8-1, 5-0 NE8), which has outscored opponents 69-13 since its only loss of the season on March 31, now turns its attention to Lakeview, which also boasts an undefeated conference record. The Bulldogs, the defending NE8 champions, have won 18 straight league games and are admittedly the team Hubbard has been itching to face.

“I would be lying to you if I told you the girls weren’t looking forward to that game,” Jeff Songer said. “They know that’s the bar. Lakeview made a heck of a run in the state playoffs, and we knew coming in that was who you were going to be chasing. If you want to win the Northeast 8, you gotta get a game against them.”